


Filou and Friends

by arcadian_hiraeth



Series: Miraculous Stories [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste Is Sunshine, Adrien Agreste Knows, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Chloé Bourgeois Friendship, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Acts Like a Cat, Bee Chloé Bourgeois | Queen Bee, Bisexual Chloé Bourgeois, Chloé Bourgeois Redemption, Fox Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Good Chloé Bourgeois, Good Friend Chloé Bourgeois, Lila Rossi Lies, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Acts Like a Bug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Knows, Miraculous Holder Chloé Bourgeois, Miraculous Holder Nathaniel Kurtzberg, One-Sided Attraction, POV Chloé Bourgeois, POV Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Post-Reveal Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Protective Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:07:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22124560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arcadian_hiraeth/pseuds/arcadian_hiraeth
Summary: Nathaniel Kurtzberg is fit to be Rena Rouge's replacement, and he might even be better at it.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Miraculous Stories [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1588762
Comments: 21
Kudos: 436
Collections: Finished111





	1. Chapter 1

A slight breeze drifted infrom the windows, much to the appreciation of the room's inhabitants. The air conditioning, while efficient, wasn't quiet. It's constant hum became annoying to Adrien's ears after some time.

The Winter months had finally faded into Spring, and it took the exhaustion of two certain girls with it. Instead, Marinette and Chloé became more... active. Energy seemed to constantly thrum through their veins, and sometimes Chloé finds it hard to sleep. It's not like they could complain, though. Marinette's made a few hundred euros off of commissions due to her recent over-energetic-ness.

What they _could_ complain about, however, was Hawkmoth and his shitty, over-working, _bull-_

"Chloé!" Marinette and Tikki yell in apall.

"What!" She looks up from her paperwork(her Daddy wanted her to get an early start on managing the hotel), lounged across Marinette's chaise, "You know it's true!"

"That doesn't make it right to say!" Marinette squeeks, completely disregarding the few times she's cursed him out during particularly cold days. Chloé's pretty sure she can curse in Mandarin, too, despite not knowing how to speak it. Though she is getting lessons from Adrien. Chloé may or may not have bought her a few Mandarin Language books when she first found out.

"Oh, please" Pollen refuted, nibbling on a piece of honeycomb, "We've all been thinking it."

"It's not like we can do anything about it, anyway," Marinette grumbled, pouting at her desk, which is no doubt covered in various designs. A professional camera is next to them. If Chloé had to guess, those designs belonged to some clients.

"Actually," Adrien cut in, eyes not leaving his phone screen. Chloe had bought him a completely new one when she realized Gabriel restricted basically everything. It's kept at Marinette's house for safekeeping. "Why don't we just give another Miraculous to someone?"

"Kitten's got a point." Plagg added, shoving an entire piece of camembert into his mouth.

"But Alya and Nino are the only ones left." Marinette pointed out, a worried look on her face.

Chloé rolled her eyes. "Just give someone else a Miraculous."

"It's not that simple. What if I chose the wrong person again? What if they get Akumatized? What if-"

"Marinette," Tikki said softly, "You are a wonderful person. You will not chose wrong."

"..."

"Kurtzberg or Couffaine?" Chloé suddenly asks.

"What?"

"Miraculous choices," She pauses, hesitant in adding more, "Anciel is a potential option, but I don't know them well enough."

Marinette pursed her lips, thinking. "... Nathaniel has a natural eye for detail, which would be good for the Fox Miraculous. I'm not sure Master Fu will let Wayzz leave him again."

There was the distinctive sound of in-game failure as Adrien asked, "Nath's joining us?"

Chloé shrugged, tapping her pen rapidly against the stack of papers, legs swinging back and forth. "Yeah, if Mari says yes."

Marinette nods, smiling, "He'll be a great addition. We'll meet him tonight, right? At nine?"

There were confirmations from both blondes, and they all went back to doing their own thing. It wasn't long before Chloé threw down her pen. "I can't do this."

Adrien, content from where he lays on the bed, looked confused. Marinette nodded, though, so at least someone understood. "You want to take an early patrol?"

" _God,_ yes."

* * *

While not the most intelligent, Nathaniel was clever. It was that cleverness, combined with Marc's, which allowed their comic to be decently popular. Who knew adding in foreshadowing with flowers in a flower shop would be so well liked? Totally, _definitely_ not Marc and Nathaniel. Just kidding. That was sarcasm.

But that cleverness wasn't what let him to figure out the Parisian heroes' identities. No. It was the simple fact of seeing Ladybug jump on and from Marinette's balcony. Multiple times. It was a mystery why no one else figured it out. Chat was a little more complicated. Really, he only figured it out because if Ladybug was dating Chat Noir, Marinette(who is Ladybug) wouldn't be two-timing with another person. She was too sweet to do that.

He stuffed those thoughts to the back of his mind, focusing on the monitor in front of him. This draft was self-assigned to be due by Monday, two days from now. And he was only on the fifth panel! He blamed Marc and their tendency to make him forget his job while video-calling. Still, he couldn't be mad. They were too cute for him to be mad at.

A throat clearing pulled him from his work. Nathaniel froze. It couldn't be his mom- she's working the late shift tonight. His sister would barge in the door, and he hasn't heard it's hinges creak. And it definitely wasn't Marc, they hated going out after dark.

Slowly, fearfully, he turned to face the definite-intruders.

Only to see Paris' own heroes. Queen Bee looked ready to laugh, hand over her mouth and eyes alite with glee. Chat Noir was smiling, though it was more of a smirk. And Ladybug herself was wearing a serious face.

The heroine held out her hand, black and red box in her hands. At the sight, the two other heroes followed their leader in being serious. "Nathaniel Kurtzberg," She began, "I am granting you the Fox Miraculous, which grants the power of illusion. Use it for good."

Nathaniel stared at the box. It was small, small enough to fit in the palm of a hand. And a _Miraculous,_ one of the most dangerous items in the world, an object tied to a literal _God,_ was being offered to him. He cast a hesitant glance out of the open window. That was probably how they got in. "There's an Akuma?"

Queen Bee snorted, hiding her smile behind her hand. Chat Noir gave him a dubious look, "Queenie said the same thing. Are you sure you're not related?"

The redhead shrugged, "I don't think I'm a Bourgeois, no."

No one reacted. Right, her identity was common knowledge. Ladybug was smiling fondly, hand still outstretched.

Nathaniel took the box, smiling a grateful smile at Ladybug, "Thank you, Marinette!"

"..."

"Mother _fucker."_

There was a moment where everything was silent. It seemed Paris itself had stopped breathing. Tension bled into the room, too thick to even cut with a knife. Finally, Nathaniel laughed. It wasn't loud or mocking, but it made Ladybug's face turn cherry-red. She dropped her head, holding it in her hands, groaning, "Is it that easy to figure out?"

Nathaniel shrugged, "I mean, I guess? I just saw you go onto Marinette's, uh, _your_ balcony all the time. And you wouldn't two-time anyone, so that made Chat Noir Adrien."

"Just- Just open the box, Nath."

A golden-orange orb of light left the box, going around Nathaniel once before stopping in front of him. The tiny god gave him a grin, one that faltered as the person in front of him registered as someone other than his previous holder. "Eh? You're not Alya? What happened to Alya?"

The kwami turned to Ladybug, expectant. Alya was good, trustworthy.

Ladybug looked away. "It's a personal issue."

Oh. Trixx shrugged(well, as much as any Kwami could shrug), and turned to his new holder. Clever, clever indeed. Spend enough time with Trixx, and this boy will no doubt be mischievous, too. The tiny god grinned, "I like you! What's your name?"

Nathaniel stared at the kwami, awed to even be talking to the creature. "Um. Nathaniel."

"Well, Nathaniel, I'm your kwami. All you have to do to transform is say 'Trixx, let's pounce!'"

The redhead nodded, repeating the words. The same golden-orange light encased him, combining God and Human. When the transformation was done, Nathaniel was left in a costume similar to Rena Rouge and Volpina's. Same dark brown gloves and boots that end in a point, though the gloves only reached his mid-forearm. The Miraculous laid at the base of his color, acting as a pull tab on a zipper, except there was no zipper.

Though, unlike those before him, he had an actual tail. It swayed lazily as he looked down on himself. "Woah..."

"So," Queen Bee broke the silence, "Who are you?"

"What?"

"She means your superhero name." Ladybug supplied.

"Oh. Um. Filou?"

Chat Noir grinned. Trickster. "That seems fitting."

Ladybug nodded, "It is. Now, come on. We have a few hours until Midnight, and I don't want to keep Filou from sleep too long."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is dedicated to @mintyrest, who gave me a bunch of advice on how to move forward with this work. I've already said this a bunch of times, and it's starting to get old, I know, but really, thank you.
> 
> Also, you cannot tell me Plagg won't call Adrien 'kitten'. The Kwami obviously cares for him, and I don't think such an innocent term of endearment would be out of character, especially compared to him calling tikki 'sugar cube'.
> 
> The idea for Nathaniel to be Filou belongs to SailorChibi. Originally, I was thinking of using the french word for 'fox', but I don't think 'Renard' sounds like a superhero name. Of course, I don't want to take SailorChibi's idea, so this is the part where I give her credit where it's due. And you should go check her stories out! She has a ton of Miraculous ones I really enjoy.
> 
> Was I right in making Marc nonbinary? I know the Miraculous page says Marc is a 'he' but I've seen a fics use 'they' and 'them' for Marc before.


	2. Chapter 2

"Are they always like this?" Filou asks.

"Hm?" Queen Bee looks up from her phone, gaze landing on the 'just-friends' Ladybug and Chat Noir. "Oh, yeah. You get used to it."

She doesn't mention how it doesn't stop hurting. How every once in a while the knife will twist, and she's bleeding all over again. It's hard to get over the only two people she's ever really loved, especially when they're dating each other.

One night, she had asked Pollen if the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous always got together. Her Kwami had looked sad at that, expression bordering too close to pity for Chloé's comfort. "They are Yin and Yang; without one, the other is incomplete. I apologize to disappoint, my Queen."

She remembered the tears spilling over, the tightness in her throat. She wished for nothing more in that moment than to just- just scream. Scream her voice raw, until she had nothing left but the empty feeling in her chest.

And she definitely remembered the Akuma. That piece of shit interrupted her break-down for no wifi. "Sometimes someone is at 59, and something small can push them over the edge to 60." Pollen had explained, an effort to help Queen Bee stay composed.

The blonde sighed silently, standing up. "Come on, foxie, there should be an Akuma soon."

Filou nodded, "Alright. I'll go tell Chat and Ladybug."

* * *

Alya Césaire stared at her phone, disbelief and betrayal fresh wounds. A picture of Filou, jumping across the rooftops with the rest of the Miraculous Team, was displayed across her screen. How... Why did Ladybug do this? She was a good Fox! Her Illusions did the job, and yeah she's not the best but she's only been Rena Rouge a handful of times. She'd get better with time!

That's why she had bought a Rena Rouge Flute. Stores started selling them as soon as they were able to get a clear picture of what it looked like. Sure, it was lighter than the real thing, having been made of plastic, but she could play her music and fight with it. Sure, it felt different when her body wasn't clad in a material unknown to man and her Soul wasn't intertwined with that of a God. When fighting didn't come as easy as breathing. But she practiced! She trained! Nino had given her countless compliments on her slightly-prominent muscles.

She did all of that, and yet she was still _replaced._ By a boy who looked more child than adult.

Rage bubbled up her throat in the form of a scream, betrayal a constant undertone only she could taste.

A small, black butterfly flew into her flute, and she spoke in hissed words before _he_ could. "Make me Rena Rouge again!"

There was silence for a moment, just a moment, before he spoke. His voice had a certain tilt to it, one she recognized as _amusement._ "I am sure you know what I want. Do not disappoint me, Vengess."

"Yes, HawkMoth."

* * *

Nathaniel lays on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Marc was so mean!So what if they just wanted him to sleep- the redhead was already behind on their comic! By _pages!_ Marc worked hard on it, and he wasn't about to let hero-work or homework or sleep get in the way of their success.

He rolled on his side, watching Trixx eat some blueberries. Whole. Maybe he could stop by the bakery and get some fruit-pastries later. He's sure the Kwami would like them, and it's not like he has anything better to do. His lover(it feels weird to say that instead of Girlfriend or Boyfriend, too intimate for just teenagers who like each other, but he would respect Marc's wishes of not wanting to be called either) had taken not only his pen, but his tablet, too. Which was, admittedly, smart of them. He does have extra pens(Hanukkah was a goldmine for stuff like that).

His mind wandered to Filou, as he continued to watch Trixx. Can he just go out as him whenever? Or does he have to wait for an Akuma? And how will he know there's an Akuma? Some of them are very discreet and even Ladybug and Chat Noir are late to find them. Maybe someone could make an app or an alarm or something. So people know when there's one. Maybe-

The ground shook. Not violently, but it was there.

Was he supposed to wait for Ladybug to get him? Was he supposed to just leave? What if him being there just messes things up? Fudge it- "Trixx, let's pounce!"

He escaped through the window before he could change his mind, towards the destroyed and damaged buildings. Or fake-destroyed buildings? The image was see-through, like a layer with 50% opacity. It reminded him of Mirage, but he didn't have time to dwell on it as he arrived at the battle.

Chat Noir and Queen Bee were fighting... Rena Rouge? A very monochrome Rena Rouge. Every orange part of her outfit was now a dark gray, the black now a light violet, almost white, that matched her eyes. Ladybug was in the midst of holding a stopwatch, practiced eyes scanning the area. Her eyes widened as he saw her, and he could faintly hear the stopwatch in her hands beep.

She sent him a look that clearly said, ' _we all need to talk.'_ He gulped at the implications, but nonetheless tried to help. What can he do? Fight? No, he was an illusion-caster, even if he could do combat. He analyzed their moves. The two heroes were on the offensive, but Rena Rouge wouldn't let them touch her. They kept dodging the translucent debris and fallen buildings. So it is an illusion, then.

He breathed in, desperately trying to soothe his nerves, and put the flute to his lips. Nathaniel couldn't play a flute for the life of him, but Filou seemed to be a master at it. The tune he played was low and sweet, like looking over a dark ravine filled with beautiful plants and flowers. Or watching a storm rage from your window, a warm mug of hot cocoa in your hands. _"Mirage!"_

The heroes' bodies split, and although he could see the illusion, Rena Rouge didn't seem to. The heroes, though a little unnerved at seeing themselves, followed Ladybug as she came to him. Filou, aware that it might appear as if he's floating, dropped down. He has five minutes, and then his illusion would drop, and so would his transformation.

Ladybug assessed him, "I have to recharge. Stay with Queen Bee." She turned to said girl, "Keep him safe."

They both nodded, turning to watch Rena Rouge fight the illusions, vaguely aware of the sound of a yoyo's string retracting and being thrown. "How is she here? I have the Miraculous."

"That's Vengess. She's the Akuma. And, apparently, she used to be Rena Rouge."

"... oh." So it's his fault then. If he hadn't accepted the Miraculous, she wouldn't be Vengess right now.

Queen Bee frowns. Discordanance settles in her chest, and she turns to Filou. He looked guilty. "It-" She's at a lost at what to say, "Ladybug couldn't work with her anymore, and she took it to heart, I guess."

She didn't _have_ to explain her leader's actions, and the fox-themed hero was grateful she cared. He grinned, ignoring the beeping of the necklace, "Thanks, Queenie."

She huffed, the pink on her cheeks visible even after she turned her head away, "Whatever."

They waited in silence for a minute more - three minutes left - before Ladybug and Chat Noir came back. The heroine did her lucky charm, and ended up with a red and black polka-dotted necklace that looks strangely like Filou's. The brief moments of her making and explaining her plan passed, which lead to Nathaniel handing the Fox Miraculous to Queen Bee and watching the battle on his phone.

Queen Bee was using the necklace at bait- divert Vengess' attention to her so Ladybug and Chat Noir could take and break her flute.

If Vengess got to the Fox Miraculous, though, it would all be over.

The blonde heroine's words were inaudible, but her hand was outstretched, Nathaniel's necklace(when did he decide it was his?) dangling from her fingers like she would just an ordinary, cheap knock-off. An easy grin, sly and guileful, spread across Vengess' lips as she reached out to grab it. Her fingers nearly brushed the chain - actually, they might have - before her head snapped to Ladybug and Chat Noir, smile replaced with desperation as she watched her flute being wrenched from her and turned to dust. The little black butterfly didn't make it very far before Ladybug caught it, and soon enough they were all surrounding a very confused and still-hurt Alya.

Queen and Chat backed off for this one. Neither of them were particularly close with the girl. Queen because she used to bully Marinette when the two were still friends, and Adrien because he was never really given the time to get to know his friends. But Ladybug was best friends with her. But the keyword there is 'was.' Alya is smart, yes, but she was one of those very special cases of stupid.

"Why?" The girl croaked, voice rough and dry from her tears. "Why did you replace me?"

Ladybug looked uncomfortable, but she couldn't tell her the truth. To do that would mean she would reveal her identity. She can't lie either- it would be stooping to Lila's level, and she would rather die. So she settled on half-truths. "Ti- Someone important to me disapproves of you, for some reason, and it's not in my power to defy them. My best option was to give you back the Miraculous, but HawkMoth seems to know your true identity, based on your akumatized form. Because of that, we can never let you be Rena Rouge again. I'm sorry."

Her earings beeped, and the fact of her only having a minute left seemed to shake Alya out of her haze. She stood up, reached her hand out as if to catch her, but Chat's hand grasped her wrist firmly. Ladybug didn't seem to notice, continuing to leave. When she was a good ear-shot away, the hero looked her in the eyes, more than a little annoyed. "Please don't touch my Lady again."

He didn't wait for a response, following after the heroine.

Queen Bee clutched the necklace chain tighter, before jumping off towards Nathaniel.

* * *

To say Nathaniel was confused was an understatement. He had gotten a text from Chloé saying _'Come to Mari's house. Now.'_ It sounded urgent, so he rushed to end the facetime with Marc quickly, throwing a half-assed comment of explaining later.

And when he finally got to Marinette's room, all he saw was a huddle of teenagers under the softest-looking blankets he's ever seen. Chloé waved her hand in his general direction, beckoning him over. "Come on. It's team bonding time."

For a minute, Nathaniel didn't move. Marinette popped her head up from the blankets, eyes narrowed in a way that was both annoyed and sleepy. Her frown was a decidedly cute mix of a pout and a scowl. "Nath."

Adrien pulls the blanket back, ignoring Chloé's protest at the sudden colder air, and Nathaniel finally makes his way under them. He sees Trixx join the other kwamis on a nest of small pillows at the end of the bed. "Why do you do this?"

He can feel the blond boy's shrug through Chloé, "It helps ease the hurt."

Nathaniel snuggles further into the warmth, and he knows they're right. Being so close to people he knows he can trust makes him feel safe- safer than when he's in his mother or sister's arms. Safer than when he's with-

"Fudge!" The redhead sits upright, drawing the attention to him. "I left Marc!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If anyone seems out of character, please tell me and I'll try to avoid it in the future.
> 
> I really want to try and make Marc a Miraculous holder, too, since they're dating Nathaniel and it would be weird for them to not be near him at least some of the time. What Miraculous do you think he should have? If you suggest a Miraculous with an unknown concept, do you mind sharing your idea of what their concept might be? Please and thank you!
> 
> I also want to add Max in. Maybe. He's a guy of logic, so he's definitely had to have realized Lila's lying, especially with the Napkin-Almost-Stabbing-His-Eye thing. And his talent in tech would really be useful for the app Nath thought of. What do you guys think?
> 
> This is my first time actively writing an Akuma and how it happened, unlike with Heartstrings. Did I do okay? And if I make a mistake with Marc's pronouns, please tell me. It's my first time writing a nonbinary character and I really don't want to mess it up. It's also my first time writing a jewish character, so if anything I 'said' as Nathaniel/Filou doesn't match up with their beliefs, please tell me and I'll change it as soon as possible.


End file.
